Anyway, the leaked plot points indicate that the semi-immortal swordsman Beric Dondarrion and the Hound travel beyond the Wall to try and capture a white walker to bring to Cersei in order to convince her to send Lannister troops north to fight the army of ice zombies steadily creeping south.

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The last time we saw the Hound, he had done his penance and linked up with the Brotherhood Without Banners. The Brotherhood was heading north to fight the army of the dead, and the trailer makes it seem as if they get there. Remember, the Brotherhood is not only a band of merry warriors who fight feudalism in middle Westeros and seize the means of production for the trampled smallfolk, they worship at the altar of the Lord Of Light, and the battle between the ice zombies and the living, breathing citizens of Westeros has always been cast in extremely Manichean terms (light vs. dark, ice vs. fire, etc). It makes sense they’d wind up there.

This is good news for viewers of the show, because it means we will probably get to see Dondarrion and his badass flaming sword fuck up some ice zombies while the Hound gets in on the action, too.

Oh hell yeah.

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Grrrr.

The last time Dondarrion and the Hound hung out, the Hound cut Dondarrion in half, which required the doctor/high priest on staff with the Brotherhood to resurrect him. More than any other show on TV, Game Of Thrones sets its characters on very long arcs, and the Hound fighting alongside Dondarrion against an army of undead ice critters after they once squabbled over a prisoner in a cave would be a very satisfying end to a twinned character arc that nobody could have possibly seen coming when Dondarrion was first dispatched by Eddard Stark to root out and kill the Hound’s brother, the Mountain. The Hound and Dondarrion embody the grimy, mud-caked side of Westeros in a way that few other characters do, which makes their potentially lofty duties that much more satisfying. Also, even if you could give a shit about the lore, the Hound fighting with Jon Snow and flaming sword man is cool as shit.

If things break right, this could also be the setup for the long-fabled Cleganebowl, where the Hound returns to King’s Landing after years away and a change of heart to fight his zombified brother in front of royalty and everyone. In a way, the Hound could finally finish Dondarrion’s job for him by killing his brother (whether or not he can die again is another question.) Game Of Thrones’ seventh season is going to full of dragons, wannabe gods, and probably some incest, but seeing this long-simmering storyline pay off would be mighty satisfying.

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This dude looks Hound-esque and appears to be getting ready to fight someone. (The Mountain???)